Don't read too much into the black-eyed Susans out front. They seem like a hopeful horticultural statement -- about survival. But they predate the renovation of the big yellow bungalow at 10305 E. Burnside Street.

This unused Multnomah County building was recently reincarnated as the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services. With its skylights and play equipment, the Gateway looks homey and inviting. But it's an office building -- not a shelter. Nor is it a secret, the way shelters usually are.

The Gateway is a novel, and more open, approach to empowering victims of domestic violence. Here, under one roof, they can obtain virtually any service they need to extract themselves from their abusers:

Child care. Food stamps. A consultation with a police officer or a deputy district attorney. Legal advice for dealing with a difficult landlord or employer.

Employment assistance. A mental health assessment. Drug and alcohol counseling. And if navigating all of this takes some time -- it can take the better part of a day -- a kitchen is also on site for some sustenance.

Perhaps the most novel service available at the Gateway Center is remote-control access to a restraining order. Early in October, video-conferencing technology will permit victims to plead their case before a judge from the security and privacy of the Gateway, without having to go downtown.

At the Gateway, women used to being treated like dirt may feel for the first time as if they matter. Here, they'll be chauffeured through the system.

For years, that's been City Commissioner Dan Saltzman's dream, after learning about a few other one-stop services for domestic violence in the country, including one in San Diego.

To make the project work, Saltzman enlisted the county (which provided the building and expertise in overseeing nonprofits), the City Council (which provided money) and a wide variety of nonprofit and social service agencies.

The Gateway promises to be an important complement to the women's shelter system. But shelter space itself is still inadequate. Too often, abused women can't find a place to go.

One question that will hang over the Gateway, in fact, is whether the $422,000 the city spends on it each year would be better spent on expanding shelters. The answer, most likely, is that we need both more shelter space and the Gateway. But the Gateway should face this question, head-on, and provide solid answers about what services turn victims into survivors.

In contrast to the usual protocol in dealing with domestic violence, the center plans to plaster its location all over the city, even on billboards. The whole idea is to publicize this place widely -- and turn it into a magnet for women (and some men) who desperately need help.

Rest assured: For all its homey vibe, the Gateway has been realistically assembled. It has a security guard, bulletproof glass and the other fortifications needed in a building that could, at any moment, come under siege.

But given the prevalence of domestic violence, and the propensity of abusers to seek out victims wherever they are -- at home or at work -- virtually any place can be vulnerable. By being on the alert already, you can argue, the Gateway at least has a head start.